'PSG are less powerful' - Real Madrid board member confident Kylian Mbappe will join Jude Bellingham in Spanish capital in the summer

• Madrid confident Mbappe will join them next summer
• Close to joining the club this season
• Real Madrid signed Jude Bellingham

WHAT HAPPENED? Kylian Mbappe was strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid during the summer transfer window after he refused to sign a contract extension with Paris Saint-Germain. While the move in the summer eventually did not materialise, Los Blancos board member Jose Manuel Otero remains confident that the French star will join the Spanish club next season for free.

WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking on the Twitch channel of Remontada Blanca (via AS), Otero said, "Mbappe has had the opportunity to sign for Real Madrid this summer. To come he would have had to give up some very high bonuses that he had already agreed with Paris Saint-Germain. Furthermore, he would have transferred. The amount that would be paid to have Mbappé a year earlier was crazy. It didn't make sense to sign Mbappé a year earlier even though he was broken in Benzema's position.

"We hope that Mbappe has thought the same as Bellingham. Mbappe I trust that he will come. Mbappe will achieve glory when he comes to Real Madrid. Meanwhile, he will be wandering around. He will win a Champions League someday. Now it seems that PSG is less powerful than before because they no longer have such good players. Madrid guarantees security, a seriousness that gives results. I trust he will say yes when he is a free agent. Mbappé was born to play for Real Madrid, of course."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Following Karim Benzema's departure in the summer, Madrid signed Joselu on loan from Espanyol and also invested in roping in star English midfielder Jude Bellingham. The English international's transfer has proved to be a wise investment on the Spanish club's part as he has scored 10 goals in as many games in all competitions thus far.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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Getty Images

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WHAT NEXT? Mbappe will be in action for France during the current international break as the former world champions take on Netherlands in a Euro 2024 qualifying game on October 13 before facing Scotland in a friendly on October 17.